Toolpusher : You never, ever forget the first time you hear that Merlin engine for real. My first time was an anniversary year for the Battle of Britain, a few decades back. A Spitfire did several low passes of the RAF Club, near where I lived in Edinburgh. That sound....you can keep your Ferraris and park yer Porsches, if the sound of a Merlin doesn't move you, you're probably already dead.

bowser515 : I always knew this was a low pass, but that picture really takes it to another level, nice catch! Ray had quite the life.

xiniks : "Aww we can't use this footage, you were swearing! Alright everybody, second take!"

gmctech : My great uncle flew spitfires. He was in the RCAF and mainly flew in desert campaigns. I have his wings, pictures and letters home to my grandmother. it's so sad that it affected him so much he never ever spoke of the war... when I'd ask him as a young child he'd choke up and just walk away. I never understood that till I got older and realized just how violent and deadly his war life was... I may only fly Cessnas but whenever I fly, his RCAF wings are always on my chest to honour him... I'll never forget the look I got from my flight instructor who trained Lancaster pilots when I hopped in for my final test flight to get my wings and he saw my RCAF wings.. he actually got angry a bit before I explained to him the history of those wings and just how much they meant to me. After that the mutual respect we had for each other was noticeable. I always get a lot of questions when people see my dirty old wings and not bright gold wings when I enter the clubhouse for a flight. I feel honoured and at ease knowing that these wings have been through whenever I fly. I guess you could say they're my lucky charm.... I always pin them on with a heavy heart but uncalculateable pride.

Silje Anthonsen Meum : My father also flew the beautiful MH434 and the other gorgeous machines at OFMC. He did a lot of shows with Ray Hanna and Mark, may they both rest in peace. I still tear up just seeing their shenanigans on YouTube. Nothing was like having Mark visiting us in Norway in the winter or the way dear old Ray put up with my chattering away in poor English and playing with my Barbies when we came to Duxford! two great men of many talents and dazzling charisma <3

stangace20 : it's funny how if you haven't seen this vid in a while, you STILL look at the sky behind him when you hear it but find it's coming at them at 2 feet off the ground instead,lol

SW6 : At 0:30 seconds the Spitfire kicks up dust.

ulpilotrmh : Lost count of the number of times I've watched it, it never gets old. Ray was best at this.

Jack Frost : I thought he was much higher so I was waiting for him to pop out behind the reporter. I actually kind of jumped when I he popped out of that tree line because he was so well blended into the back round.

chris : I bet that pilot was laughing his ass off.

methylene5 : I'm not sure if anyone else has noticed this, but if you watch it again and look closely there is actually a guy in a light blue shirt talking about something when the spit comes.

Thomas White : you can tell the way the plane was angled, he was flying about waist height before he angled up to pass the camera crew.

ganymedeIV4 : Imagine being a German back in the 40's and seeing that shit coming down the road at you like that.

lowrez mobius : This is one of the best low passes I've seen.

Shaun Chandler : One can never get tired of the sound of that Merlin....

TheSpartanGamer : The best shot of this is when the camera pans over to the Spit flying right at it. You can pinpoint the exact moment when the cameraman blinked and thought to himself "Oh. Shit."

James Barber : A most special pairing of men, the Hannas. I am privileged to have known them through tiger squadron. They were amazing. I have had carried this clip on my phones for the past 10 years.....never fails to make a smile. What they could do in an aeroplane was remarkable.

Frank McGorman : The pilot "agreed to fly a low pass".... he just didn't say HOW low! This vid never gets old :)

andellades : Respect to Ray Hanna!

Davi Lu : I've watched this video so many times over many years.

ben5shuttle : A stunning video, which should never be lost off YouTube. Ray Hanna what a stunning pilot...what a loss to the pilot community.

Toby Potts : One of the coolest films ever. What an epic low pass.

Keyboard Krazy : Look carefully on reporters left hand side!....... so low the Spit is invisible against the tree line 😧👍🏻👍🏻zzzzzzzzZzzzzzzZZZZZOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM. Ray did not GET INTO an aircraft......he PUT IT ON......he became one with the airframe! I 😉would estimate the prop tips at no more than 2 feet from the ground, THAT is precision flying!
DEEP RESPECT from one pilot to a legend! The late great Ray Hanna......Red One.............HIGH FLIGHTS AND CLEAR SKIES RAY......RIP.🇬🇧

Chris Pellatt : What a gorgeous and yet terrifying piece of machinery. Listening to the Merlin v12 is a thing of beauty.

Wings TV : The photo at the end of the video - taken by the producer on location is now available via pixels.com. Through this service orders can be produced by a fulfilment location in reasonably close proximity - hopefully not in another country..! Available are two versions, a wider shot and a close up shot. You can order a print, framed print or canvas or on one version, even a shower curtain!
The original negative required some restoration and has been drum-scanned by a professional lab to get the best version we can get. We tested the image by ordering a 36" wide canvas and the image still looked good.
The link is here - http://pixels.com/art/photographs/spitfire+surprise
The watermark is obviously NOT on any ordered print or canvas, framed print etc...
For the rest of April there is a discount available if you enter the following code YCKBCU - the discount only comes off the photographer's mark up but should at least cover your shipping costs.
Let me know directly of any issues martin@geminipictures.co.uk

BazSmiles : Do you think we can bump this up to a million views?
:-)

Veritas Vincit : Question;It'd be easy to fly the machine into the ground at this height or at least strike the prop. The elevator authority on the Spitfire is said to be sensitive despite Hanna's undeniable skill. So, is this machine flying in ground effect in this clip? In other words, is a cushion of air under the wings helping Hanna keep it from bumping the ground at this low height? My only frame of reference is flying general aviation types, not warbirds at these speeds, and ground effect is noticeable when landing or keeping the nose low just after rotating to allow airspeed to build.

Donald Parlett jr : Ray Hanna was a hell of a pilot. Great feel for the acft

legendario13 : The absolute madman!

Darren Farley : That is just awesome. What an amazing pilot.
Clean trousers please!!!

David Selby : Ray Hanna was a legend at air displays. I watched him fly the Spitfire at RAF Alconbury air show many years ago. I had never seen a Spitfire flown the way he flew it that day, or since. He really showed what an awesome machine it must have been, in the hands of those brave young men during WW2. Thanks for the post, brilliant.

sneeky7 : What I love about this video is that I didn't even notice the Spitfire coming over the yard the first few times I watched. But if you keep your eye on the right side, it will have you rolling laughing.

Wayne Taylor : masterfull piece of flying by the late great Ray Hannah !

chris maplethorpe : Nothing beats the sound of the merlin get goose bumps whenever see and hear one in the air.